Cigar filler press



May 6, 1941. H. R. KASPER CIGAR FILLER PRESS Filed Dec. 16, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Ar i an er M 3Q WNAPAWQPWVVMV smewrok Hansen menu KMPEK m'fotfl Y- May 6, 1941.

H. R. KASPER CIGAR FILLER PRES S Filed Dec. 16, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 bNVE-NTOK EKBEKV K DDLF KASPER ATTQRNEY- Patented May 6, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application December 16, 1937,;SerialNo. 180,063 In Germany December 24, 1936 4 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of cigar fillers, and more particularly to an improved press adaptedfor use in the compression of the filler.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved press of the endless type which'is so constructed that the movement of the conveyor accomplishes the necessary operation of closing, holding and finally opening the press members.

Another object of this invention is to provide spring-pressed closure means for the press members, and to use in combination therewith a positive opening means for press members so that the press members will at the proper station or zone in the movement of the conveyor be swung to an open or filler receiving position.

The filler compressing devices at present available have been found unsatisfactory so far as the even compression of the filler is concerned, the filler being of an uneven density due to the pivotal movement of the upper mold or press member and to the manner of holding the upper press member. This invention has, therefore, a still further object in the provision of a pivoted upper mold or press member and means it active after the upper mold or press member has been moved to an operative position for holding the upper mold in a clamping or pressing position until the unloading stationhas been reached, the length of the conveyor and the speed of the movement of the conveyor determining the length of time that the press members are held in clampingor pressing. position.

A further object of this invention is. to provide a plurality of filler compressing members which are secured to an endless chain or carrier and to dispose means in the path of the movement of such members to eifect the closing, compression, holding and finally the opening of such members during the continuous movement of the members on the carrier.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will be more fully described hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed l out in the claim appended hereto.

In the drawings, wherein like symbols refer to like or corresponding parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is detail side elevation of a plurality of cigar filler compressing devices constructed according to an embodiment of this invention mounted on a conveyor or carrier which i's shown in fragmentary form;

Figure 2 is; a top; plan of the devices shown in Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a detail front elevation of a lower mold and holder therefor removed from the conveyor or carrier.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 3.

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially through the center of the upper mold or press member.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken ontheline VI-VI of Fig. 2.

Referring tothe drawings, the numeral l designates a conveyor or carrier in the form of a chain which is trained over sprockets 2 connected to a suitablesource of power (not shown). A lower mold orpress member 3 is secured or held'in a holder-8 which is secured as by bolts 9 to the chain or carrier l. The mold 3 is provided'with a pocket 4 therein forming one-half of the mold for the cigar filler, and preferably the mold 3 is removably secured in the holder 8 by means ofribs I0 carried by the holder 8 which engage in grooves Illa provided in the opposite sides of the mold 3. In practice there are also preferably two chains or carriers I, and the holder 8 is provided with pairs of dependent lugs ild-adjacent each end thereof through which the bolts 9 engage. The mold 3 is held against longitudinal movement in the holder 8 by means of a pin 2| carried by a spring I 9 which is secured as by bolts 2'0 to a side of the holder 8.

An upwardly curved arm II is secured to a side of the holder 8, and a curved lever or arm I3 is pivoted as at l2 to the stationary arm H. The lever I3 is provided at the free end thereof with an eye or boss M. in which a shaft I5 is slidably disposed. The shaft l5 has secured to the lower end thereof an upper mold holding or supporting member 46, and a base member 5 is removably mounted on the holder IS. The holder 16 is provided with opposed ribs l8 which engage in complementary grooves ISa in the base member 5, and a pin 24 carried by a spring 23 engages in a suitable hole in the base member 5 so as to hold the base member 5 against longitudinal movement in the holder IS. The spring 23 is secured as by a bolt or screw 22 to a lug [1 formed on the holder it.

The upper mold holding member It has an upper mold 6 secured to the under side thereof, and this mold 6. is provided with a pocket 7 complementary to the pocket 4 in the lower mold}. The upper mold 6 with the supporting means I6 therefor is held against turning rela- 'ment of the molds or pressing members.

tive to the lever or arm I3 by means of dependent guide member 2! fixed to the arm I3 and engaging against one side of the holding means I 6. A spring 25 is disposed about the upper end of the shaft I5, the lower end of the spring 25 engaging against the upper side of the lever is, and the upper end of the spring 25 engaging against a head 25 carried by the upper end or" the shaft I5. The spring 25 constantly urges the mold supporting means I to an upper released position. r

The lever I3 is biased to a released position by means of a spring 29 which at one end engages a pin 28 fixed to the stationary arm II and at the other end engages a pin 30 fixed to the lever or rock arm I3. A stop member 32 is fixed to the stationary arm I i and is adapted to limit the upward swinging of the lever or rock arm E3 to a released or open position.

An upper mold closing member comprising a horizontal bar 42 and an upturned end 4-H is supported by means of supporting bars 43 fromthe frame of the machine in the path of the move- As shown in Fig. 1, the forward end portion M of the mold closing means is upwardly curved sufficiently so that the opened mold and supporting means therefor will engage against the end 4! and will then be swung downwardly and held in a lowermost position by the straight portion 42 which is disposed above and parallel with the upper run of the conveyor or carrier I. At a suitable point in the movement of the pressing members along the length of the holding mem ber 42, the upper holding means IE is forced downwardly against the tension of the spring 25 by means of a rock lever or pressure means iii. The rock lever 45 is pivotally supported on apivot 45 engaging a bearing 46 movably mounted in the frame of the machine, and the outer end 53 ofthis lever 44 is adapted to be'engaged with a suitable lever operating means (not shown), which may be either manual or mechanical and forms no part of the present invention.

The lever 45 is provided at its inner end with a boss 61 in which aplunger 50 is slidable, the plunger 55 being urged downwardly by means of a spring 59. A stem 48 is also slidable in the boss 41 and engages the plunger 59. The upper end of the stem 48 is provided with a ring 5| which limits the movement of the stem 48 and the plunger 55 in the boss 41. Preferably the stem is is fixed to the plunger so that these parts will move as a unit. The plunger 5%) is disposed in the path of the head 28 of the shaft I5, so that when the rock lever M is rocked downwardly the shaft I5 will be moved downwardly.

A pair of holding members 55 are swingably mounted on pivotal members 34 rotatably mounted in bosses 33 disposed on opposite sides of the arm II and fixed to the lower holder 8. The inner ends of the holding members 35 are provided with outstanding pins 35, and a spring 3'! connects opposite pins 35 and constantly urges the holding members 35 to a released position. When the holding members 35 are in released position they are disposed in substantial alinement.

After the mold 6 has been forced downwardly into the mold 3 by means of the lever 44, the mold holding members 35 are swung into operative position over the top of the upper holding member I6 by means of opposed rollers 55 which are carried by bracket members 54 secured to the sides of the frame. The bearing't is preferably supported on the upper end of a rock lever 4511, which is adapted to move forwardly in the depressed position of the lever 45 so as to maintain the shaft I5 in compressed position until the holding members 35 are swung to holding or clamping position by means of the rollers 55. The rock lever 450. may be operated by either mechanical or manual means which however form no part of the present invention. The upper side of each holder I5 is provided with a rounded upstanding rib do which is engaged by the clamping members 35. An outstanding pin iIa is secured to one side of the lever I3 and is disposed in the path of the upwardly curved end portion AI of the holding member 4i, 2 so as to swing the upper mold 6 with the supporting means therefor downwardly to a pressing or substantially closed position.

When the clamping or holding members 35 are swung to operative position, the mold passes out from under the holding member 42 and continues around the conveyor to the discharging position. This discharging position of the mold is in the present instance disposedclosely adjacent the loading station, the latter station being designated as v in Fig. l. The discharging position or station is designated'u in Fig. 1, and in this position the mold is moving vertically around the adjacent end of the conveyor or carrier I. The frame of the machine is provided at the discharge end thereof with a U-shaped bracket or supporting member 51 which encloses the end of the carrier I and through which the various molds are adapted to pass.

The bracket 51 is provided on the bi'ght or outer end thereof with a pair of spaced apart angularly disposed releasing members 55 secured to the bracket 57 by means of bolts 58. The releasing members 55 are disposed in downwardly convergent relation, as shown in Fig. 6, with the lower end of each member 55 adapted to engage inside of a pin or extension I52 carried by each holding member 35. As each mold moves vertically past the releasing members 55 the holding members 35 are moved outwardly until they ride off of the ribs 45, at which time the spring 31 will swing the holding members 35 outwardly to completely released position.

In order to provide a means whereby the upper mold 6 may be positively moved to a released position, there is provided a releasing member 53 which is supported by means of an arm 64 secured to the bracket 51. The releasing member 53 is disposed in the path of the head 26 and is inclined to the vertical so that as the head 26 moves upwardly the head 25 will slide along the surface of the releasing member 53 and will thus be positively forced outwardly. The engagement of the head 25 with the releasing member 53 will not be effected at all times, as the spring 25 will normally move the mold 6 to an open or released position. However, in the event the mold 6 should stick in the pocket or recess 5 of the'lower mold 3, and the tension of the spring 25 is not sufiicient'to withdraw the mold 5 from the pocket t, the head 25 will ride over the releasing member 63 and thus forcibly withdraw the mold 6 from the'pocket 4.

A guide member carried by an arm 53 securedto the bracket 51 is adapted to engage a lateral extension Iii carried by the lever or arm i3 so .thatduring the movement of the mold through the bracket 51 the lever I3 will be held 25. As soon as the lever I3 passes the upper end of the guide member 60 the lever I 3 will be swung to a released position by the spring 29.

In the operation of this cigar filler compressing means, the carrier or conveyor I has the upper run thereof moving to the left as viewed in Fig. 1. At the receiving station '0, the mold is open and the desired uncompressed filler is placed in the pocket 4 of the lower mold 3. The placement of the material in the pocket 4 may be done manually or by any suitable delivery means. As the carrier I moves to the left, the outstanding pin lla strikes the forward end 4| of the stationary holding means, thus swinging the lever or arm I3 downwardly. When the mold arrives at the compressing station the rock lever 44 is rocked downwardly so as to compress the spring 25 and move the upper mold B into the pocket 4 of the lower mold 3. The compressed position of the upper mold 6 is maintained by the swinging of the lever supporting member 460. until the forward movement of the carrier I brings the outstanding and substantially alined holding members 35 into engagement with the rollers 55. At this point the rock lever 44 is raised and the compressed mold passes along the carrier, returning on the lower run of the carrier to the releasing station it, at which point the releasing members 56 engage the lugs or extensions 62 and swing the holding members 35 to released position. The lever holding guide 60 at this point engages the lever I3, and in the event the mold 6 should stick in the pocket 4 the head 26 will engage the releasing member 63 and be moved thereby into released position. As soon as the lever or arm I3 passes the upper end of the holding guide 60, the spring 29 will swing the lever or arm I3 upwardly to released position determined by the stop member 32. The compressed filler in the lower pocket 4 may then be removed frgm the pocket by manual or other means and an uncompressed filler inserted in the pocket 4.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the length of the carrier I will determine the length of time that the filler is held within the mold pockets 4 and I, this compressing period being also dependent upon the speed of the carrier I.

It is of course understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the details of construction of this invention, such changes and modifications being restricted only by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A cigar filler compressing means comprising an endless conveyor, a lower mold member, means securing said member to said conveyor, an upper mold member, means swingably securing said upper mold member on said lower mold member, means normally biasing said upper mold member to open position, stationary means engageable with said upper mold member for swinging said upper mold member to a partially closed position, a mold closing lever engageable with said upper mold and movable therewith for a short distance to hold the upper mold in closed position, a pair of spring-operated clamping arms for each mold, and stationary means engageable with said arms when said lever is in mold closing position to swing said arms to clamping position.

2. A cigar filler compressing means comprising a conveyor, a lower mold member secured to said conveyor, a rock arm carried by said mold member, a spring-pressed upper mold member carried by said rock arm, means normally biasing said rock arm to released position, means engageable with said rock arm for swinging said rock arm to operative position, pressure means for moving said upper mold member to compressed. position, and means active after said upper mold member has been moved to compressed position for holding said upper mold in compressed position, said latter means including a pair of clamping arms pivotally carried by said lower mold and biased to a released position, and stationary means engageable with said arms to swing said arms to clamping position.

3. A cigar filler compressing means comprising a conveyor, a lower mold member secured to said conveyor, an upper mold member movably supported relative to said lower mold member, stationary means engageable with said upper mold member for moving said upper mold mem ber in the direction of said lower mold member, holding means for holding said upper mold member in operative position, said holding means including a pair of clamping arms pivotally carried by said lower mold and biased to a released position, stationary means engageable with said arms to swing said arms to clamping position, and releasing means engageable with said holding means for releasing said upper mold member.

4. A cigar filler compressing means comprising a conveyor, a mold member secured to said conveyor, a second mold member, means swingably securing said second mold member on said first mold member, yieldable means constantly urging said second mold member to released position, stationary means engageable with said second mold member for swinging said second mold member into a lowered position, spring-operated holding means swingably carried by said first mold member for holding said second mold member in engaging position, and stationary means engageable with said holding means after said second mold member has been swung into lowered position for swinging said holding means to engaging position.

HERBERT RUDOLF KASPER. 

